Masters House to become hub for council services

Posted: 10/10/2011 12:18:20

Herefordshire Council, working with the Ledbury Localities Group, has agreed to start work on turning the Masters House in Ledbury into a hub for council services, including a library and customer services centre.

Building works on Phase 1 of the project, which covers the building’s Victorian wing, have now begun and listed building consent has been applied for to allow works on this phase to be completed by January 2012.

Herefordshire Council has committed more than £2million towards the project and has also submitted a bid the Heritage Lottery Fund for funds towards restoring the medieval part of the grade II* listed building.

This project aims to fully restore the Masters House in order to preserve and safeguard its heritage for current and future generations.

Once completed, the building will be a Services Hub from which statutory and voluntary sector organisations to serve the local community in Ledbury. The hub will include a library, registrars service and ceremony space, localities office, customer services centre and office space for Ledbury Community Voluntary Action.

A decision on the stage 1 application for Heritage Lottery funding will be made in December this year. If successful, a stage 2 application will be submitted in August 2012 with a final decision due in December 2012.

Roger Phillips, Herefordshire Council’s cabinet member for enterprise and culture, said: “This project is a very important one for Ledbury which will not only restore this building but also ensure its sustainability into the future.

“At a time when many local authorities are having to close libraries due to government spending cuts, we remain fully committed to providing this service which is much valued by the local community.

“I would like to encourage residents to support the HLF bid which will, if successful, help us create a heritage building that will not only provide frontline services but will also serve as another tourist attraction in the historic market town,” he added.